Safety device for automobile passengers



March 26, 1940. A. SOBLE SAFETY DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILE PASSENGERS Filed March 28, 1938 Patented Mar. 26, 1940 UNITED A ENT PASSENGEBS v Allen Soble, Franklin; Va. 7 Aplflicati'onlldaifcli at, its, steal net-i 2 claims. (or. 280-450) 'lh' present invention relates to safety devices for the protection oi automobilepassengers, More specifically, my invention contemplates the prevention or minimization of injuries sustained 5 by automobile passengers as the result of suddent stops or collisions. V h ,7 The word fautomobile signifies any type of passenger carrying vehicle wherein the occupants are seated andmay have warning of impending disaster. However, this invention is concerned primarily with conventional road vehicles wherea in the seated passengersface forwardly so that they have a slight advance notice of approaching danger. v v t fl In operation of such vehicles, the great majolfi ity of injuries caused by accidents are sustained when the occupants are tumbled about or thrown violently in a forward direction due to sudden vehicle deceleration. It may be thatthe feet are braced, but eventhen thehead and trunk of the body will move into impact withpa of the vehicle. Horrible facialand scalp lacer as Well as skull fractures, quently resu from impingement. d me e the v v. .e eii; shatterp'rooff glass, which has strong resistance to breakage. and a clingingaction after it has given way in the locus of impact. The front seat.

passenger is most seriously endangered 91 m score. The driver is partiallyprotectedby con- 0 finement behind the steering wheel llhe rear seat passengers awenotmgeet tt to which they may cling or against whi cl'r r t d exe i r s eeein about laterally. a's-well themselves quickly, an t which they may be thrown as forwardly.

Heretofore mm been that belts, in the nature of straps be provided to.

encircle the waists 0r chests of the plsengers The dificulty with such devices isthat people 40 are loath to go to the inconvenience oij constantly hooking and uniastening the belts on the occasions of frequent andnumerous rides. l vlqre r, such devices, when used, are notentirely sat s- I factory e e in i s. widen news. duce rib or abdominal injuries, without preventing the head n eii p rextei, ri from being p led e w rsi rit yiel n. e impact with adjacent vehicle superstrueture It is the primary object of the present invention to devise means which, without interference with normal and convenient use of the vehicle seats by the passengers, afiords obtainable protection or insurance against injuries of the kind above mentioned. More specifically, it is an important object of my invention toprovide an p e ntme t. e1: a ta h en t a u e. ,on the. v hiele wh c m y. eu zed. yth Q0911: Pan s. as a ans top f ve tth om be n catapu d. in the v nt fr p d dece ra on, The device is out of theway and requires no 5 a puiet bu eanea y .be. ras ed. w b th h n b e sen er.-. I eu efiilalsotq semi-invalids and a'ged people in getting to and ireme se POSiQiQ -L. I

It is a ma o ehieet et y n a vehicle body accessory adja of such design that it may be gr .iiyiii. h Palms e t eha i sie e esiyihen seen er a a s la e l i d...iw i. .e ineve iit ensijee prevent the head and trunk of the body from being m die w d ih r A further objectisto so designmy safety de- .vice that it will not be objectionable 1 ance and will not have exposed 'ts likely to cause injuries to any partof the anatomy coming into engagement therewith. r H h 'I'hesev and otherv objects of th" p'r ticn will clearly appealQU- Pim a study L lowing detailed description when taken in co junction with the accompanying drawing and the, appended claims. In th'" awing I Figurl isaperspecti'vev ew of'a p or v automobile body that A has I are safety devices of this invention attached thereto U t verse s'ectio'ntakn vertically .onth' plane pr. 2 '".2,'1j ure l, and showing the preferred jorm. of device with a part thereof out of its normal p 'it' Figure 3 is an ennieea; fragment taken on the plane or linej33l Figure Z to show the anchoring means for the roneelernent. .-Fig. 4 is a detailview brone' end ofithe rope element.

Figure 5 represents a .transv'er e t ion taken vertically onfthe plan ef line A 4, F gure h near 6.18. a eme e i r imem w semen f line 6-35, Figure 5, with the tak j ri th me-ne rope element detach be foundjust above the front edges of the two seats, in which event the safety devices of the present invention preferably will be anchored to the ribs. If there are no ribs at or adjacent these positions, the safety devices may be anchored to longitudinal side ribs or other body structure adjacent the upper edges of the body side walls. As will be seen shortly, correct location of the safety ropes is very important.

Modern tops like that illustrated, comprising an external sheet steel sheathing or cover l6 and an internal finishing cloth H, are so low as to afford hardly more than head-room for the passengers, and have a slight convex curvature when viewed in transverse section; and therefore; they are particularly suited to effective adaptation of my invention. The low elevation permits a taut safety rope or strap to be disposed where it can be grasped conveniently-and yet disposed close to the roof so as not to form an interfering:

obstacle or hat remover; and the slight curvature naturally forms a small clearance space between the finishing cloth and the rope so that as the passenger clutches or grabs for the rope his fingers automatically slide along the smooth cloth and receive the rope.

' In its preferred form, the rope comprises a round cord l8, approximately inch to inch in diameten formed of rubber and fabric and having at its ends a pair ofsecurely fastened ferrules 20 carrying integral metal eyes 2|. The cord may consist of. a rubber core covered with fabric, or may have the materials interwoven and braided as in known rope-rail design. It is desirable that the fabric conceal the rubber and harmonize with the cloth l1, and it is essential that the cord shall not be too yielding or elastic. Preferably it is of such length as to be placed under slight tension when assembled, and sufficiently elastic to yield only a few inches when grasped by the hands of one or more passengers upon sudden stopping of the vehicle.

A suitable permanent form of anchoring meansbest seen in FigureB-comprises a metal plate 22 welded across the channel of the rib l4 and having an integral hook 23 designed to receive one of the'eyes 2| of the rope element. This detachable connection permits the device to be made optional equipment on new automobiles. If. desired, the hook maybe seperate from the plate and have a screw thread connection therewith. 'The pair of anchoring devices preferably are located, as shown, substantially at points where the roof may be said to join or merge the side walls of the body.

For the purposes of concealing the anchoring parts and of covering the metal parts to protect the occupants against possible injuries, a pair of soft rubber members are provided in the form of hollow sheaths 24. Prior to attachment of the with ' rope element, these sheaths may surround the cord l8 as in Figure 4, but subsequently are forced axially intothe position illustrated at the right hand end of the rope in Figure 2. Each has a restricted throat portion 25 designed to fit snug- 13! between an eye 2| and a ferrule 20, a sleeve portion 26 designed to surround a ferrule 20, and a cup portion 2''! designed to press against the finishing cloth I! and to house the intercoupled hook and eye.

If desired, the cord l8 may be connected to the top between its ends at one or two spaced points for reinforcement and to afford separate handholds for several seat occupants. Figure 5 illustrates a suitable three-point connection, as well as a modified type of anchorage device. Here the central part of the cord may pass through a hook or an eye 28, which has an elongated shank 29 threaded at its terminal for reception in a tapped hole in the rib I5. A fibrous washer 30 may be disposed around the shank between the eye andthe cloth IT.

The ends of the rope element in Figure 5 may be anchored as in Figure 2, or by detachable hook devices, best seen in Figure 6. Each device comprises a hook 3| having an enlarged shank 32 provided with a threaded terminal 33 for reception ina tapped hole in the bottom of the steel channel member (or having simply a shank in the form of a wood screw where the top framework is of-wood), and an integral shoulder 34 adjacent the hook. A fibrous washer 35 is engaged by this shoulder and pressed against the edges of the rib 15 to conceal the hole necessarily made through the cloth ll. Protective rubber sheaths 24 may be used here also, as in Figure 4.

The manner of use of the cords It should now be obvious. Each may be grasped with one hand to facilitate getting into and out of the seats, or by both hands to prevent the head and trunk from being thrown forwardly upon collision. The body is kept in balance through use of both hands, slightly spaced apart, on the rope. If the feet are simultaneously braced, breaking of bones in. the legs-is highly improbable, due to transfer of a large part of the forces of reaction'to the top through the arms. It is emphasized that the rope should be just slightly above and forwardly of the heads of the seat occupants, and preferably slightly below the finishing cloth, so that a natural upward swing of the arms (with palms ofth'e hands facing forwardly) will accurately andreadily bring the cord into the palms.

Obviously, numerous changes may be made in thedetails of rope design and anchorage without departing from the spirit of the invention; and therefore I wish to be limited, as is customary, only by such restrictions as necessarily must be construed as present in the appended claims to distinguish over the prior art.

What is claimed is:

1. A device of the character described, comprising a flexible and relatively soft elongated member, metallic fastening elements projecting axiallyfrom the ends of said member, and relatively soft cover elements surrounding said member and designed to slide axially thereof and frictionally engage and conceal said metallic elements.

a 2. In combination with an automobile body having a passenger seat, a flexible and relatively soft rope element designed to be mounted substantially in a straight line transversely of and within said body adjacent said seat, ferrules at the ends of said rope element, and metallic members joining said ferrules to said body, and a soft rubber sheath at eachend of said rope element, said sheaths including sleeve portions closely surrounding said ferrules and cup portions snugly housing the adjacent metallic members.

ALLEN SOBLE. 

